GUJARAT

In dry Gujarat, 4.3% of adult population alcoholic: Rajya Sabha data

It is ironic for a dry state but data tabled in Rajya Sabha recently indicated that about 4.3% of the population of Gujarat – accounting to about 19.53 lakh persons – are addicted to alcohol.
The data, shared by A Narayanaswamy, MoS (social justice & empowerment), cited the figures collected during National Drug Use Survey 2019 by AIIMS.

According to the data, 4.3% of people in Gujarat had alcohol dependence. This is even higher than Rajasthan’s 2.3%, Bihar’s 1% and Jammu & Kashmir’s 4%. The national average however was 17.1%, mentioned in the answer.

The answer also said about 1.46% of the population of Gujarat (6.64 lakh) was addicted to opioids, 1.38% to sedatives (6.28 lakh) and 0.8% to cannabis (3.64 lakh). Moreover, 36,000 (0.08%) were addicted to inhalants.

In all, the survey pointed at about 8% of the total population (about 36.5 lakh) addicted to either alcohol or drugs. The survey did not include tobacco dependency.

INTERNATIONAL

World Day Against Trafficking in Persons – 30 July

United Nations observes 30 July every 12 months as World Day Against Trafficking in Persons.

Highlights:

In 2013, the General Assembly specified July 30 as World Day towards Trafficking in Persons to make awareness of the state of affairs of victims of human trafficking and the advertising and protection of their rights. The 2021 theme for World Day Against Trafficking in Persons is Victims’ Voices Lead the Way. This year’s theme puts victims of human trafficking at the centre of the marketing campaign. It will highlight the significance of listening to and getting to know survivors of human trafficking.

World Nature Conservation Day – 28th July

World Nature Conservation Day is designated on 28th July every year. The main motto of celebrating this day is to raise awareness about protecting nature & doing best practices for conserving our natural resources. The globe is supplied a limited amount of properties that we all rely upon each day, like water, air, soil and trees.

Steps to conserve the environment:

Alternate energy usage such as solar and wind energy. Planting more trees to maintain the ecosystem and to prevent soil erosion. Properly use the water resources and reuse the kitchen wastewater for watering our own gardens. Vegetation growth in catchment areas. Control the usage of electricity. Getting adopted recyclable & biodegradable products. Recycling wastes is a must. Minimize the usage of cars for a shorter distance. Usage of paper bags or cloth bags instead of plastic bags. Grow your vegetables by using organic compost. Install water treatment plants and rainwater harvesting.

Gamma-Ray Burst from Dying Star

Indian astronomers were part of a team that discovered the shortest Gamma-Ray Bursts from a dying star.

Highlights:

A team of astronomers detected a very short but powerful burst of high-energy radiation that lasted about a second and has been flying towards Earth for nearly half the age of the present universe.

The burst detected by NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope on 26th August, 2020, turned out to be one of the shortest gamma-ray bursts caused by the death of massive stars.

The GRB has been designated as GRB 200826A, after the date it occurred.

GRB 200826A was a brief burst of high-energy emission that lasted only 0.65 seconds. The signal had stretched out to about one second in length after travelling for aeons through the expanding universe when it was detected by Fermi’s Gamma-ray Burst Monitor.

NATIONAL

National Organ Transplant Programme – NOTP

The Indian government is implementing the NOTP to promote organ donation and transplantation in all Union Territories/States.

About the Programme:

The provisions under the programme include:

♦ The establishment of State Organ and Tissue Transplant Organizations (SOTTOs) in each state/union territories.

♦ Establishment of National/Regional/State Bio-material Centers.

♦ Financial assistance for the establishment of new Organ Transplant/Retrieval facilities as well as the strengthening of existing Organ Transplant/Retrieval facilities.

♦ Training of transplant specialists, including surgeons, physicians, transplant coordinators, etc

♦ Financial assistance for the recruitment of Transplant Coordinators at medical colleges and trauma centres.

♦ It is an immunosuppressive drug for patients below the poverty line (BPL) after transplantation.

♦ The Transplantation of Human Organs Act promulgated in 1994 aims to provide a system for the storage, removal and transplantation of human organs for therapeutic purposes and to prevent the commercial transaction of human organs.
Exercise Cutlass Express – INS Talwar

The INS Talwar participated in the 2021 “Cutlass Express ” multinational training exercise on the east coast of Africa.

About Exercise Cutlass Express:

♦ The exercise is an annual maritime exercise aimed at promoting maritime safety in countries and regions in East Africa and the West Indian Ocean.

♦ The exercise’s 2021 edition will include participation from 12 Eastern African countries, the United States, the United Kingdom, and India, as well as various international organisations such as the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the European Union Naval Force (EUNAVFOR), the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Interpol, and the Critical Maritime Routes in the Indian Ocean (CRIMARIO).

♦ The exercise aims to assess and improve joint maritime law enforcement capabilities, promote national and regional security, and improve interoperability between regional navies.

♦ India’s Information Fusion Centre – Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR) is also taking part in the exercise.

India’s participation is in line with India’s established policy and vision for maritime cooperation in the Indian Ocean region SAGAR (Safety and Growth for All in the Region).

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